We have been around long enough to have taken on clients who have previously been using large firms, predominantly for the prestige.
Big isn’t always best
Here are some of their comments about these larger firms:
- We felt like we were small fish in large pond
- Our day to day work had been delegated to a Junior member of staff
- We could never get hold of the staff member who actually understood our business and could help us
- We only spoke to the partner once when we had our initial meeting
- It took them ages to respond to emails and phone calls
- We were charged for everything – we never knew where we stood with our accounting fees as we seemed to get bills out of the blue
Sounds familiar? We understand how frustrating this can feel, making it seem that you are an undervalued client.
Advantages of using DNA Accountants rather than a larger firm
Both of our Directors trained at Ernst & Young – you can’t get much larger than that! However, we could see the frustration that some clients were experiencing and decided that when they formed DNA, they would take these challenges on board.
Here’s how we’re different:
- You will never have to wait more than 24 hours for an email response or a phone call back.
- You will always be able to speak to one of the Directors.
- You will know in advance just how much your monthly fee will be and this will only be increased if you decide to change the level of services we provide for you.
- You will be introduced to the member of staff dealing with your bookkeeping and payroll matters at an early stage so that a relationship can be formed. However, you will always be able to speak to one of the Directors if you have an issue with that member of staff.
Worries you might have about using a small accounting firm
You might wonder whether the team is suitably qualified as a small accounting firm?
The Directors of DNA are both members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) as well as fellows of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA). This is important as there are some small firms who do not have ability to sign off mortgage references.
The team keeps up to date with monthly online courses to make sure our CPD is kept up to date.
You might be concerned about whether we have enough experience?
The Directors have been running DNA Accountants for over 20 years and have encountered most issues that arise during the life of a business from start to finish.
The rest of our team know that they can always ask the Directors about situations they haven’t come across before adding to their own learning experience.
If we feel that a particular issue is too technical, we will call on the services of Markel Tax who offer a tax advisory service to accountants in practice.
We also make sure we are fully up to date with the latest software and IT developments. DNA were one of the first practices to use Xero Tax which is our Accounts Production and Corporation Tax software – Gillian was featured in a Xero article about this which you can read here – https://www.xero.com/blog/2020/08/why-move-clients-to-xero-tax/
You feel that a larger firm would be more prestigious
Can’t help you with that. We don’t have a Top 5 status symbol or a modern London work space but we do have a lovely office in Headley with centuries of history where clients are always made to feel welcome. You can read more about our beautiful, historical office space in this blog.
When should you definitely use a larger firm instead of a small accounting firm
Larger firms are great for certain things. For instance there are some businesses that we do not act for:
- Companies needing audits
- Charities
- Community Interest Companies
- Non-resident Companies
You might be better off using a specialist firm that deals with these matters on a day to day basis.
I think moving to a smaller firm might be of benefit to me
If you feel that you’d like to see how we work at DNA and set your mind at ease about working with a smaller firm, fill in this form and we’ll set up a call.
